4th Annual Catamaran Guru Rendezvous & Regatta
Abacos, Bahamas - May 7,8,9,10, 2023.
Catamaran Guru will host the fourth annual Catamaran Owners Rendezvous in The Abacos, Bahamas from May 7-10, 2023. This annual event is open to all brands of catamarans. In 2022, we had 9 different brands: Lagoon, Bali, FP, Manta, Prout, Leopard, Lightwave, Nautitech, and Voyage and we hope to have more! The event is usually attended by about 110 people as we limit participation to 30 boats to ensure our venues can accommodate our events and activities. These 110 people are a permanent part of the sailing community, some living aboard, while others belong to sailing clubs or simply charter boats. It’s a big melting pot and we invite you to join us!
About the rendezvous & regatta
The Rendezvous dates are chosen to dovetail with the insurance requirements for boats required to be North of Cape Hatteras by June. We also arrange a post-Rendezvous flotilla to depart from The Abacos to the Chesapeake Bay. For this flotilla, we sponsor weather routing for the fleet.
The Rendezvous hosts many events on the water and on shore including:
Opening welcome party- Point-to-point “racing” which encourages all the owners to put their boats through their paces and talk a little salty competitive smack. This year we plan to do two of them!
- Our very popular Rumbrella Race which combines rum-infused libations and umbrella-powered sailing of floats and boards
- tons of beach games and fun competitive challenges designed for laughs
- “cheeseburgers in paradise” served on the beach
- a dinghy parade with trophies for best dressed.
- a fundraiser for a local junior sailing program.
Opening welcome party
In addition to the fun, we offer educational events such as spinnaker training, safety at sea presentations, and first aid seminars. Last year, a North Sails expert was moving from boat to boat during the race on a power boat to give sail trim tips in real time during the competition. The owners loved it! Another well-received activity was the deployment of a life raft so that all the owners and their crew could see and experience this and have the opportunity to climb into it and understand what it is like. During all the knowledge sharing events we encourage all attendees to contribute and share experiences that would be useful for others.
As a pre-Rendezvous activity to give catamaran owners the security of a group crossing of the Gulf Stream and of first-time navigation in the Bahamas, we arrange a flotilla from Fort Lauderdale to The Abacos (a distance of 290 NM) This group sets sail around the last week of April, weather permitting. Interested? Register with sharon@catamaranguru.com
RENDEZVOUS ITINERARY
Saturday all day: Meet & Greet with Estelle & Stephen on Mithril (Catana 50 OC) on the Jib Room dock! Introduce yourselves!
Sunday May 7, 11am – Lithium Battery Seminar by Mazocean at the Jib Room
Sunday May 7, 4pm – Jib Room Restaurant and Marina in Marsh Harbour sponsored by La Victoire Finance and Dedicated Marine . The opening party is conveniently located in Marsh Harbour in case guests are flying in and will feature a band, spectacular food and welcome cocktails.
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- Opening Party THEME: DRESS UP AS YOUR BOAT NAME! (Big Prizes for best dressed!)
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Monday May 8, 9am – “Practice” Regatta to Tahiti Beach on Elbow Cay.
- 4pm: Dinghy Decoration Parade (Big Prizes for the best dressed dinghy)
- Dinghy raft-up at Tahiti beach afterwards. Bring your favorite cocktail and appetizer and socialize with fellow sailors!
Please do not be discouraged about the “races”! This is simply a fun way to get from one event to the next. We add a little friendly competistion to the mix and free beers!
Tuesday May 9, 11am – Rumbrella Races and Beach games on Tahiti Beach. Lagoon Catamarans and Cruise Abaco Charter company sponsor this event. It is a fun day on the beach where we will race our “floaties” with Lagoon umbrellas, eat burgers in paradise and drink copious amounts of rum!
- 10am: Gather on the beach and warm up for the races!
- Bring your canoe, paddle board, pool toys or ANY floaty! Umbrellas will be supplied!
- 12:30 pm: Free cheese burgers in paradise served at Thirsty Cuda on the beach
Wednesday May 10, 9am – Regatta to Guana Cay. Grabbers Bar & Restaurant will put on a spectacular pig roast on the beach for us with live music and fun activities. Sands Beer will serve free beers and cocktails *(limited) and present the trophies to the winners!
- 3:30pm: Scavenger Hunt & Cocktail tasting hosted by Sands Beer
- 6pm: Prize Giving dinner at Grabbers Beach Bar. Sponsored by Sands Beer
- 9pm: Bonfire on the beach
Fundraiser Raffle
Rendezvous Supports the Future of Sailing
Catamaran Guru, with the help of the generous Rendezvous participants, proudly raise funds for the Hope Town Junior Sailing Club during the event. This sailing program helps promote junior sailing programs and summer camps in Abaco, Bahamas. Our goal is to support young sailors in reaching their full potential as they become independent and responsible adults and sailors. Get ready to buy your raffle tickets for a chance to win some great prizes!
what is included in the price?
We try to keep the costs as low as possible for cruisers with sponsorships from some of our vendors and additional sponsorship from Catamaran Guru. We are obviously very grateful to the sponsors for helping us make this event possible and we would very much appreciate your support for these sponsors. Boat entry fee $250 and a price per person.
- Boat Price is $250 and Price Per Person is $150
- 3 x meals & our signature Hooligan Juice Cocktail
- Event sun shirt and cap
- Event bag & sponsored goodies
- Event Burgee
- Prizes for Rumbrella races, Dinghy races, Sailing Regatta etc.
- More details to come…but based on previous years, the prizes and goodies from our sponsors will be awesome!
Registration is Now Closed
Don't Have a Boat? Charter with Cruise Abaco!
Cruise Abaco is our charter partners for the event and is conveniently located at Great Abaco Beach Resort (Boat Harbour Marina) in Marsh Harbour.
They offer bareboat charters with excellent service and local knowledge so that you get the most out of cruising the Abacos. They also offer unique “CAPTAINED BY DAY, BAREBOAT BY NIGHT” charters!
Check out their fleet and book a charter with our charter partners in the Abacos! USE CATGURU-RZ FOR REFERENCE.
"regatta" courses
Old Peculier owner and Hope Town Yacht Club member, Martin Cooper will help us set the courses and will brief everyone the day before the races.
- Start at Marsh Harbour, sail around the Parrot Cays and finishing at Tahiti Beach
- Start at Tahiti Beach and sail to Guana Cay
We will post more detail about the Rendezvous as we get closer to the event.
Moments from previous rendezvous
thank you to our sponsors
2 thoughts on “2023 All-Catamaran Rendezvous Event”
Timing for this may be perfect. We were going to put Corazon on the hard for hurricane season in early May, but the timing of your Abacos trip may be perfect!
In late May or October we are looking into having Chris Spencer install our hardtop in Fort Lauderdale We are investigating bringing Corazon from Antigua to the Abacos for the hurricane season, depending upon cost and availability to strap down on the hard.
Cheers!
Donavan
Hey Donavan! That is great news! We would love to see you there! Let me know when you are ready to sign up.